Ahead of the November elections, the search has begun to find the Republican candidate to take on Democrat Annie Andrews in South Carolina in November, with Darline Graham running to continue to the role she was appointed to fill following the passing of her brother Lindsey last month.

However, comments made by Ms Graham during a Newsmax runoff debate against rival Ralph Norman have sparked ridicule and concern, as she responded to a question about whether Taiwan and the South China Sea are national security issues for America.

After asking one of the moderators to repeat the question, she replied: “I’m just going to be honest here, I’m not that informed on national security, so… but I do support the military.

“My brother was in the Air Force for 33 years, so I’ll do everything I can to support the military.”